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"The first step in designing a new Torment story is to ask the primary question," (Colin McComb, Torment designer,) wrote. "I’m older than I was when I worked on Torment, and my questions now are different than they were. I have children now, and I look at the world through their eyes and through mine, and that’s changed me—in fact, the intervening years have changed me so much that I have new answers for the central story in the original Torment. So now that I know what can change the nature of a man, I ask: What does one life matter?... and does it matter at all?"

Edit -
They've announced the new name, Torment: Tides of Numenera, and put up a website. You can create an account and get notified when they start their crowdfunding drive, as well as submit & vote on ideas. Right now the ideas are mostly for the upcoming kickstarter (tier levels and potential rewards).

Edit - The Kickstarter is live! It's set to end at Friday Apr 5, 8:00pm EDT.

From the Kickstarter page:

Here’s a brief summary of our story:

You are the Last Castoff, the final link in the chain of the lives of the being they call the Changing God. He once was a man who discovered a way to use the relics of the ancients to cheat death and skip across the face of centuries in a succession of bodies. But he never knew that his bodies lived on as his consciousness fled, a new consciousness arising in each. Now he has awakened an age-old enemy, the Angel of Entropy, and his days of change are gone as the Angel hunts him and all his works. That includes... you.

With the ever-present threat of oblivion looming over you, you must find your sire before he—and you—are eradicated by the avenging Angel. You will find allies and enemies among the other castoffs. You might inhabit their minds for a time through the devices called “the Meres,” turning their lives to your advantage. You will travel across the face of the Ninth World, and above and below it, with your companions at your side—or alone, if you wish. Your quest will take you to alternate dimensions and distant worlds under strange suns; particular Meres might afford you even more bizarre experiences, such as folding time itself. And you will build your legacy as you find your answer to the question:

What does one life matter?

How Is Torment: Tides of Numenera Similar to Planescape: Torment?

We're crafting Torment with the goal of creating a gameplay experience like that evoked by Planescape: Torment (or PS:T). We want Torment to challenge, reward, surprise, and entertain you in ways that PS:T did. To do that, we examined PS:T carefully, and took these four pillars as our foundation:

A Deep, Thematically Satisfying Story. The philosophical underpinnings of Torment drive the game, both mechanically and narratively. Your words, choices, and actions will be your primary weapons.

A World Unlike Any Other. The game has a fantastic, original setting, with awe-inspiring painterly visuals, imaginative locations, truly offbeat items, and massive feats of magic. In Numenera, however, "magic" is actually something surprisingly different.

A Rich, Personal Narrative. The story is thoughtful and character-driven—epic in feel but a deeply personal narrative, with nontraditional characters and companions who have their own motivations and desires that drive them throughout the game.

Reactivity, Choice, and Real Consequences. The game emphasizes replayability and reactivity, and your choices will make a real difference. You can play the game with a different approach and discover entirely new pathways. Most important, we won't tell you how to play. The best ending is the one you choose, flowing naturally from your actions throughout the game.

How Is Torment Different From Planescape: Torment?

Torment is not a sequel to PS:T. It does not continue the stories of PS:T or its characters.

Torment is set in Numenera’s Ninth World, a new tabletop RPG setting created by renowned designer Monte Cook (he and Colin wrote much of the material for the Planescape tabletop setting).

Torment will use a new rules system that's based on the Numenera system but adapted specifically for a computer RPG.

We'll strive to make Torment's combat system and encounters an engaging and entertaining part of the gameplay. We'll connect them narratively to the overall story. And, continuing the Torment tradition, we'll make most if not all combat avoidable.

So is this game going to have the twenty novel's worth of text to read? Cause uh.. that was the worst part of Torment.

Couldn't disagree more. Torment was one of the few games in which I actually enjoyed reading the text.

ChrisLTD wrote:

maverickz wrote:

So is this game going to have the twenty novel's worth of text to read? Cause uh.. that was the worst part of Torment.

Isn't that the whole point of Planescape Torment? Otherwise you'd be better off playing Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale.

I found the story interesting, I just found the presentation lacking. I don't want info dumps in my games, or movies. I'd rather read a book for that kind of enjoyment. Games should be much more interactive.

I found the story in Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale uninspired. Torment had good stuff in there, it was just annoying that they used text boxes to tell it.

So is this game going to have the twenty novel's worth of text to read? Cause uh.. that was the worst part of Torment.

Couldn't disagree more. Torment was one of the few games in which I actually enjoyed reading the text.

ChrisLTD wrote:

maverickz wrote:

So is this game going to have the twenty novel's worth of text to read? Cause uh.. that was the worst part of Torment.

Isn't that the whole point of Planescape Torment? Otherwise you'd be better off playing Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale.

I found the story interesting, I just found the presentation lacking. I don't want info dumps in my games, or movies. I'd rather read a book for that kind of enjoyment. Games should be much more interactive.

I found the story in Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale uninspired. Torment had good stuff in there, it was just annoying that they used text boxes to tell it.

Probably should go play a different game. And a different genre.

Generally, I agree with you but I feel dialogue trees and ability to define who the Nameless One is, was unique to games.

Now, my problem with Torment was that the combat system was terrible. Made it very difficult for me to progress. That's the main reason I'm not willing to support the kickstarter. I couldn't make it past the terrible combat system, I did struggle my way deep into thegame, and that has me hesitant to support this.

Generally, I agree with you but I feel dialogue trees and ability to define who the Nameless One is, was unique to games.

Now, my problem with Torment was that the combat system was terrible. Made it very difficult for me to progress. That's the main reason I'm not willing to support the kickstarter. I couldn't make it past the terrible combat system, I did struggle my way deep into thegame, and that has me hesitant to support this.

The Infinity Engine was peculiarly badly suited to fit Planescape: Torment's combat. Translating the 2nd Ed AD&D rules to digital form was already awkward, but the story didn't really fit the combat requirements either. My view is that since they're designing from scratch / porting the Numenera rules it should be much less of an issue this time.

Generally, I agree with you but I feel dialogue trees and ability to define who the Nameless One is, was unique to games.

Now, my problem with Torment was that the combat system was terrible. Made it very difficult for me to progress. That's the main reason I'm not willing to support the kickstarter. I couldn't make it past the terrible combat system, I did struggle my way deep into thegame, and that has me hesitant to support this.

The Infinity Engine was peculiarly badly suited to fit Planescape: Torment's combat. Translating the 2nd Ed AD&D rules to digital form was already awkward, but the story didn't really fit the combat requirements either. My view is that since they're designing from scratch / porting the Numenera rules it should be much less of an issue this time.

I also have an extremely hard time understanding any sort of D&D rulesets. I don't get what dice rolls mean and find it very unintuitive. So apart from the combat being broken and slow, it was also very confusing for me.

Not sure I agree, I'm a big fan of role playing games. I'm not sure I could describe it in detail, but I found Fallout to have done this much better.

I was going to say that it just seemed like you didn't like the delivery method of the story (lots of text), but considering Fallout has the same structure, I don't know what to think. Maybe you think Fallout was better because the story wasn't as complex, so you could ignore most of the info-dumps and still get the gist of the story (find water, stop Master)?

What did I think of Arcanum? Great idea, they had a wonderful engine, but the game itself was broken and just didn't work well for me.

For anyone who liked Darklands, take a look at Inquisitor which released a few months ago. A "detail-oriented" old school RPG with lots of conversation choices which in turn affect the play of the game, in a big way. I played the beta and had some fun with it. Just ran across mention of the full release yesterday, so I grabbed it from Gamersgate. It's also on GoG.

The two sides to every story are true and false, not yours and theirs. Facts are not political; lies are. - Deven Green (Mrs. Betty Bowers)

Not sure I agree, I'm a big fan of role playing games. I'm not sure I could describe it in detail, but I found Fallout to have done this much better.

I was going to say that it just seemed like you didn't like the delivery method of the story (lots of text), but considering Fallout has the same structure, I don't know what to think. Maybe you think Fallout was better because the story wasn't as complex, so you could ignore most of the info-dumps and still get the gist of the story (find water, stop Master)?

You're exactly right that I found the presentation inappropriate. The story was interesting. I found Fallout to be less wordy. Again, I have no problem with reading in and of itself, I love books. I just think the video game medium is not appropriate for that kind of storytelling. In a medium that's like video games or movies, show me rather than tell me should be the overriding philosophy.

Not sure I agree, I'm a big fan of role playing games. I'm not sure I could describe it in detail, but I found Fallout to have done this much better.

I was going to say that it just seemed like you didn't like the delivery method of the story (lots of text), but considering Fallout has the same structure, I don't know what to think. Maybe you think Fallout was better because the story wasn't as complex, so you could ignore most of the info-dumps and still get the gist of the story (find water, stop Master)?

You're exactly right that I found the presentation inappropriate. The story was interesting. I found Fallout to be less wordy. Again, I have no problem with reading in and of itself, I love books. I just think the video game medium is not appropriate for that kind of storytelling. In a medium that's like video games or movies, show me rather than tell me should be the overriding philosophy.

I also have an extremely hard time understanding any sort of D&D rulesets. I don't get what dice rolls mean and find it very unintuitive. So apart from the combat being broken and slow, it was also very confusing for me.

They're just to provide a random chance of success for some task, with the min roll for success set by the difficulty and bonuses provided by player skill. Though I'll grant that things are a lot more straightforward with current D20 rules than when Torment was made (does Torment have THAC0?).

D&D originated from tabletop war games, so a lot of the original mechanics are based on that (armor class, hit points, etc). That's actually where the old mode of negative armor class came from, I believe. For ship battles, a fully armored ship would be AC 0, just like a fully armored soldier is AC 0. But once you throw magic into the picture, suddenly AC could go all the way to -10. That was confusing and so they added a pre-calculated value of THAC0, which arguably didn't help at all.

Not sure I agree, I'm a big fan of role playing games. I'm not sure I could describe it in detail, but I found Fallout to have done this much better.

I was going to say that it just seemed like you didn't like the delivery method of the story (lots of text), but considering Fallout has the same structure, I don't know what to think. Maybe you think Fallout was better because the story wasn't as complex, so you could ignore most of the info-dumps and still get the gist of the story (find water, stop Master)?

You're exactly right that I found the presentation inappropriate. The story was interesting. I found Fallout to be less wordy. Again, I have no problem with reading in and of itself, I love books. I just think the video game medium is not appropriate for that kind of storytelling. In a medium that's like video games or movies, show me rather than tell me should be the overriding philosophy.

Standing over a stained copy of an old Ronald McDonald ad, masturbating furiously screaming MY WAY!

maverickz wrote:

You're exactly right that I found the presentation inappropriate. The story was interesting. I found Fallout to be less wordy. Again, I have no problem with reading in and of itself, I love books. I just think the video game medium is not appropriate for that kind of storytelling. In a medium that's like video games or movies, show me rather than tell me should be the overriding philosophy.

How far did you get in Planescape: Torment?

I don't get your point of view, but in Planescape's defense, it was 1999 and there wasn't much advancement in the "Show me, don't tell me" department in games. It's weird because you'd be the target audience, a guy who doesn't mind reading a lot.

Plus it's hard to compare it to a book, because in Planescape, even if it was wordy, your choices changed your story a big deal, and sometimes you unlocked whole sections or parts of the story just by talking. You can't exactly do that in a book.

Also it's hard to "Show, don't tell" the stuff that PS:T dealt with - ethics and philosophical questions and emotions and weird weird stuff. I mean, you could try showing a man struggling with internal conflict or having some epiphany when talking to a being from another dimension, but...

In short, yeah I don't think you'll get much support from Planescape fans when you ask that the game be "less wordy" : p

Not sure I agree, I'm a big fan of role playing games. I'm not sure I could describe it in detail, but I found Fallout to have done this much better.

I was going to say that it just seemed like you didn't like the delivery method of the story (lots of text), but considering Fallout has the same structure, I don't know what to think. Maybe you think Fallout was better because the story wasn't as complex, so you could ignore most of the info-dumps and still get the gist of the story (find water, stop Master)?

You're exactly right that I found the presentation inappropriate. The story was interesting. I found Fallout to be less wordy. Again, I have no problem with reading in and of itself, I love books. I just think the video game medium is not appropriate for that kind of storytelling. In a medium that's like video games or movies, show me rather than tell me should be the overriding philosophy.

You're exactly right that I found the presentation inappropriate. The story was interesting. I found Fallout to be less wordy. Again, I have no problem with reading in and of itself, I love books. I just think the video game medium is not appropriate for that kind of storytelling. In a medium that's like video games or movies, show me rather than tell me should be the overriding philosophy.

How far did you get in Planescape: Torment?

I don't get your point of view, but in Planescape's defense, it was 1999 and there wasn't much advancement in the "Show me, don't tell me" department in games. It's weird because you'd be the target audience, a guy who doesn't mind reading a lot.

Plus it's hard to compare it to a book, because in Planescape, even if it was wordy, your choices changed your story a big deal, and sometimes you unlocked whole sections or parts of the story just by talking.

Also it's hard to "Show, don't tell" the stuff that PS:T dealt with - ethics and philosophical questions and emotions and weird weird stuff.

In short, yeah I don't think you'll get much support from Planescape fans when you ask that the game be "less wordy" : p

I honestly don't know how far I got, maybe halfway? But that's a guess. At some point I just tired of it and gave up.

Another example of what I mean is a game like Ultima 7, there was a lot of story happening all around you without the need to read essays.

Not sure I agree, I'm a big fan of role playing games. I'm not sure I could describe it in detail, but I found Fallout to have done this much better.

I was going to say that it just seemed like you didn't like the delivery method of the story (lots of text), but considering Fallout has the same structure, I don't know what to think. Maybe you think Fallout was better because the story wasn't as complex, so you could ignore most of the info-dumps and still get the gist of the story (find water, stop Master)?

You're exactly right that I found the presentation inappropriate. The story was interesting. I found Fallout to be less wordy. Again, I have no problem with reading in and of itself, I love books. I just think the video game medium is not appropriate for that kind of storytelling. In a medium that's like video games or movies, show me rather than tell me should be the overriding philosophy.

I guess it depends on when you started gaming:

I beat the babel fish puzzle. Without hints.

[drops mic, walks off stage]

Ok, I give up - wordiness is OK sometimes, but not other times

Now you are beginning to understand the Lethani.

Look, I'm just saying I'd like Torment: Numeral to be a little less wordy. I'm not trying to solve world peace here.

Look, I'm just saying I'd like Torment: Numeral to be a little less wordy. I'm not trying to solve world peace here.

I hear those words, but it's like asking it to give up the thing that made it special. Also, with a Kickstarter budget, there isn't going to be anywhere near enough money for it to be voiced enough to get a Torment-dense script out.